Wildcat
by Triane
Summary: While on a field trip with Cyclops, Jean Grey, and several students, Logan meets someone who knows something of his past. LoganOC.
1. Meetings

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize, poor me. Wildcat, on the other hand, is totally mine.

_A/N – okay, guys, my first posted fan fiction! Please let me know what you think...I absolutely adore constructive criticism. Flames on the other hand...let's just say that I will respond in kind - do you really want to risk it? Did I mention that I adore CONSTRUCTIVE criticism? I really don't bite – often. Please review!_

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She gazed through the leaves at the group of people in the clearing. She had heard them about half an hour ago, when they had first pulled up in their large van. It was a group of young teenagers, chaperoned by three adults, two men and a woman. It looked like it could be any other group on a field trip, except for subtle differences in the appearance of some of the children. Here and there a skin tone was off, or there was something different about a build. Every once in a while there was one child who didn't even look totally human. And yet they were all laughing and playing together with a soccer ball they had brought with them. The adults were standing together, talking quietly.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the adults. Her vision was blurry and she couldn't see clearly, but it looked as if one of the men was quite tall, and was wearing a pair of sunglasses, visor style. He had brown hair, a well built body, and a serious face. The woman was also quite tall and strong looking, with long reddish brown hair. The third man was shorter than the other two, but still taller than the woman in the brush. He had wild black hair and bushy sideburns, and had a very well muscled body. He was extremely familiar, even through her wavering gaze, but she couldn't quite place where she had seen him before. It was pushing at her like a flood, but some wall in her mind kept the memories at bay. _He looked comfortable in his skin_, she thought to herself. _And he also looked like he was part animal_. She would have to be careful with that one.

All of a sudden her eyes widened and she hissed. The wind had changed, and was carrying her scent towards the group. She froze, knowing that if someone came to see if anyone was there, she would have to run instead of fight. She would never survive a fight.

Logan stood with his arms crossed, listening to Scott and Jean talk. He felt the wind change slightly, and smelled an unfamiliar scent carried on it. His eyes narrowed and he popped his claws out of habit. It was not animal, and yet it was not quite human, either. He was about to go investigate when one of the boys playing soccer came up to him and spoke quietly, his back to the forest behind them.

"Mr. Logan? I can smell someone." Scott and Jean stopped talking and looked at the boy, but kept their mouths shut when Logan glared at them.

"Thanks, Jeff. I smelled it too. Behind us?" The boy nodded.

"What do you think it is? You said you smelled someone. Couldn't it be an animal?" Jeff shook his head.

"It doesn't smell totally like an animal. I think it's human. Or mostly, anyway." Logan nodded and motioned for the boy to go back and join the group, then turned to Scott.

"Keep the kids around the van. Until we know what's out there, anyway." Jean squinted.

"I can't sense anyone out there, Logan. Are you sure?" Logan glared at her.

"You've got an overactive brain. I've got overactive senses. It's not impossible for you to not feel someone. He's there. Besides, if Jeff can smell him, it's a pretty sure thing. His senses haven't totally developed yet." Jean looked like she was going to argue, but Logan glared at her again and she shut her mouth.

"Now, Cyclops." Scott turned with a sigh and called to the kids.

"Okay, everybody, back in the van!" Amid the sighs from the teenagers, Scott could hear Logan growl at him. "Thanks, one-eye. There goes my element of surprise." Scott just shook his head. Seconds later Logan had walked around the van and disappeared into the bush on the other side, working his way around to the place where he had smelled the intruder.

The woman in the bush watched, concerned, as the young people filed into the van. She didn't just want to walk out into the open, not knowing the risk she would be putting herself into, so she sighed and winced, knowing she had lost her chance. She was slightly concerned that she could no longer see the dark haired man, but decided that he had gotten into the van with the rest of them. She had panicked when she saw him with long, lethal looking claws coming out of his hands, but had managed to control herself. With a glare, she pressed her hand to the wound on her belly, seeing her hand stained red with her blood. The stripes on her back and arms burned like fire, and the gash on her leg was also burning. With a hiss, she vowed vengeance yet again, but now didn't know how she would get it, since her only chance for help was about to drive away.

Suddenly her eyes narrowed, scanning the area in front of her. The air around her was shifting, and on instinct, the nails on her hands grew into two-inch long curved black claws. Crouched in a defensive position, she growled and pressed her hand to her stomach again, wincing. Eyes and mind racing, she whirled on the balls of her bare feet just in time to see a blur of black. Seconds later, she was pressed against someone's hard chest, with one big arm wrapped around her, the other hand holding her wrists together. Her captor was leaning against a tree, with one leg wrapped around both of hers, his foot hooked on his other ankle, effectively trapping her. She was about to yell in pain, but then realized that he had managed to trap her without coming into contact with any of her wounds. His hand on her back was placed between any of the scratches, and with her arms bent in front of her, it protected the slash on her abdomen. The wound on the front of her thigh was pressed securely against the back of his thigh, and the pressure was actually making it feel better.

Logan looked in surprise at what he had managed to catch. The woman both he and Jeff had scented was shorter than he was, slim and strong. She had wild blonde hair that looked like it hadn't seen a comb in a very long time, pale skin and wide blue eyes. She was looking at him with a very nasty scowl on her face, but that didn't affect him. What had him worried was the fact that until ten seconds ago it looked as if she had normal nails. Now, they were long, lethal, and very sharp looking. And also reaching for his throat. It wasn't very hard to keep her hands still, and he wondered how weak she was, with all the blood she was very obviously losing. Her face was flushed and her breathing laboured, and all of a sudden he realized that the only reason she was there was because she was looking for help. She didn't look like the type of person who really wanted to come into contact with other humans. He flicked his eyebrows at her.

"You need our help, don't you?" She hissed at him and glowered again, struggling to get free. Logan chuckled.

"Maybe, darlin', if you were healthy, you would pose a threat. But right now...don't bother. You'll just hurt yourself." Her eyes widened in shock and her mouth dropped open slightly. With another grimace, she proceeded to tell him off with a series of very animal-like growls and hisses. He just laughed.

"I'm sure that on a normal day, I would be very offended by that, but my cougar is a little rusty. Can you speak English?" She scowled and snarled at him. He shrugged.

"Well, whatever, darlin'. My name is Logan. And like I said, you need our help." She tried to struggle again, but was too tired and ended up resting against him. Leaning against him, it was as if the wall in her mind came crumbling down and she suddenly remembered who he was. Her heart leapt, but she saw that he didn't recognize her yet, so she kept her peace. Logan heaved a sigh.

"Alright, so you won't talk, so asking you your name ain't gonna get us anywhere. And I don't think you're gonna tell me why you're hanging around looking for help either, are you?" She just growled.

"Look, you can trust me. I don't know how I'm going to prove that to you, but you can. And nobody in that van is going to hurt you, either." From the direction of the said van, Logan heard Scott call his name. He groaned and rolled his eyes, but saw that the woman in his arms had been startled by the noise, and something very strange had happened with her eyes. He wasn't quite sure what he had seen, but he thought that they had changed to yellow cat's eyes for a brief second. It was the strangest thing he had seen in a very long time.

"Whoa...." He stared at her in shock. "Do that again." She scowled, then stuck her nose in the air and deliberately shut her eyes. Logan chuckled slightly.

"Oooohhh, attitude. But you just proved that you can indeed understand me, Miss Thing. You're not as smart as you think you are." With her eyes still shut, the woman just smirked and shrugged, clearly conveying that she didn't care if Logan knew she could understand him. Logan shrugged as well.

"Fine then." He leaned forward slightly so that he was right in her face, then yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Just a minute, Summers!" It got him the desired reaction, as her eyes shot open in shock and he was staring into golden cougar's eyes, black pupils just slits in the centers.

"Ah ha! I thought so! You're a mutant!" Too late she realized her mistake and started to struggle again, but was no match for the healthy man holding her. Logan just shook his head.

"It doesn't matter, it's all right. You can trust us, we're not going to do anything to you. We're mutants, too!" It was clearly the wrong thing to say as she started to fight even more. Logan was astounded. "What's the matter? We're not gonna hurt you, darlin'." She stopped struggling and looked him in the eye, her eyes still yellow.

Even though he was still holding her wrists, she managed to point to the gash on her stomach. Logan let one of her wrists go, she took his hand and traced her fingers along his knuckles where his claws came out, then pointed to her stomach again, and reached over her shoulder to touch one of the deep scratches on her shoulder. Logan nodded in understanding.

"You panicked about us being mutants because you were..."

"Hunted," she finished savagely, her voice harsh from disuse. He stared at her in shock.

"If you can talk, then why weren't you?" She glowered at him.

"Speaking with words is only good for those who walk on two legs and practice betrayal." They stared at each other for a moment, until they heard Scott crashing through the bush. Logan swore and walked out in the open, dragging the woman with him.

"Summers, we're here!"

Logan pulled her with him until they reached the van. Jean was standing at the door of the van, with kids grouped around her and looking out the windows. As they reached the group, the woman stumbled and fell to her knees. When she looked up, there was a wall of people around her, and she started to panic. Over the roaring in her ears, she faintly heard the man called Logan telling the other two adults about her. She thought, irrationally, that they were going to do something to her, and all she wanted to do was get as far away as possible. She saw the children all looking at her with solemn gazes, and she suddenly realized that she would have to hurt someone to escape.

Wincing, she rose slowly to a crouching position, evaluating her options. She didn't really want to hurt any one, as none of them really made any move to touch her, but she felt that she needed to get as far away as possible, so she looked over the kids and tried to see through her wavering vision which ones looked weakest. Her leg burned and threatened to collapse, and she knew she would only have strength for one attempt.

Just as she was about to make a break for it, she saw that one younger boy with tousled brown hair and serious dark eyes had inched slowly to the side, leaving just a big enough gap in the line to let her out. He watched her quietly, and she saw that it wasn't an accident, that he was letting her out. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she went with it, darting with amazing agility across the open space.

She had just cleared the group when she felt herself being lifted off the ground. Without anyone touching her, she flew through the air and came down with bone-shattering force in front of the three adults. The tall man was frowning at her, and the woman looked harsh as well. She had her hand to her temple as if concentrating, but took it away as soon as the wild woman was on the ground. Logan was looking at her with an unreadable look on his face.

She tried to rise, but her small reserve of strength had finally given out and she could barely move. She collapsed again, and Logan came towards her, gathering her in his arms, speaking harshly.

"Jean, she's hurt! You didn't have to drop her that hard!" The woman didn't say anything in reply, but had the good grace to look concerned. Logan looked down at the woman in his arms and saw that she was looking up at him curiously, but was having trouble focusing, and was close to slipping out of consciousness.

"We're gonna take care of you, darlin'. What's your name?" The wild woman smiled, and to his surprise gently stroked his cheek, her breathing laboured.

"You used...to call me...Nikka, Logan." She swallowed hard and struggled to continue, grasping to the last threads of consciousness. "Don't you...remember me?" With a quiet sigh she fainted, her head slipping off his shoulder. Shocked, the man without a past held her close, willing her to open her eyes again, to tell him what she meant. He quickly came to his senses, rose with her in his arms, and bolted for the van, followed by Jean, Scott, and the kids.


	2. Revealings

"She is waking up." Consciousness crashed in like an unwelcome wave, and she frowned.

"What's she thinking?" Eyes opened a crack and quickly shut again, light hurting the sensitive pupils. She tried again, making sure she had human eyes this time.

"I don't know. Her mind is either blank or shielded, I can't tell." Her vision blurry, she tried to focus on the man speaking.

"How are you feeling?" She didn't recognize him and her gaze swung wildly around the room until it settled on Logan, sitting by the other side of her bed. She sighed in relief and looked back to the other man.

"Much better, thank you." He was broad-shouldered, bald, and slightly tanned, with piercing blue eyes and an open, understanding face. His voice was cultured and gentle.

"You gave us quite a scare when Logan brought you in. Those injuries were very serious, especially your leg and stomach. Your leg might still need some stitches. The doctor was planning to check it shortly."

She smiled slightly, speaking with a quiet accent. "A good dressing was all that was required, I'm sure. I am indebted to you and your doctor for providing care. I feel much better." With another quick look to Logan to make sure he was still there, she flicked an eyebrow at the other man.

"Where am I?" He smiled.

"You're at my school for the gifted, near Salem in Westchester. I am Professor Charles Xavier." Her eyes narrowed.

"Gifted?" He smiled slightly and nodded.

"Logan has already told me what he knows of you, of the conversation you had. Gifted in this case does mean mutant, but I assure you, you are not in any danger here." After holding his gaze for a moment with an unreadable gaze, she nodded slightly.

"I believe you, Professor. Logan seems to trust you, and I trust Logan." The shorter man shifted in his chair next to her, and the Professor sighed.

"As you may have already guessed, that brings some confusion." Her gaze shifted to Logan and saw that his expression was as unreadable as hers. _He still has his training_... Logan cleared his throat.

"I don't remember anything before 1985...eighteen years ago. Everything before that is...nothin'."

Even though she had prepared herself for that, had even expected it, the statement still shocked her. Pressing fingertips to the bridge of her nose, she blinked back a sudden rush of tears. It took less than a second to get herself under control, but she could feel Logan's attitude change slightly. It gave her hope and she gave him a small smile.

But at the same time, she felt a small pressure inside her head and her smile immediately changed to a frown that she directed towards the professor.

"Stop." He raised an eyebrow and looked at her quizzically, but she could see through his expression that he knew what she meant.

"Consider that your one free chance. Next time you try to read my mind, you will come away with a very painful headache." His eyes narrowed slightly.

"You're that powerful of a telepath?" She grinned ruthlessly.

"Let us just say that I like to keep my thoughts to myself. So stay out of my head, and I will stay out of yours." He nodded and she glanced at Logan, who was observing with his usual non-expression. The professor quietly took control of the conversation again.

"I don't know if Logan had a chance to tell you this, but we can help you. We would like to assist you in finding the ones who did this to you. Can you tell us what happened?" She thought for a moment.

"It will take some time, for our history is a very long one." The professor nodded.

"We have set aside this entire day, just in case that was the situation. You have our undivided attention for as long as is necessary, child." She laughed slightly, and he smiled a question back at her.

"I am just amused with your use of the word 'child', Professor. That is certainly not something I hear from your age group." He frowned, the corners of his mouth still curled up.

"What do you mean?" She nodded slightly, but swung her legs to the side instead.

"Before I tell you, I need to walk for a little while. This is the longest I have ever been stationary after sleeping for...well, forever. And I do not want to stiffen up." The professor held up a cautionary hand.

"But be careful of your leg, please. Doctor Grey has not checked it for an hour or so, and you do not want to aggravate your injuries." She laughed out loud, and shook her head.

"Professor Xavier, when I said that a good dressing was all it required, that is exactly what I meant." With a lengthened nail, she cut the bandage and peeled it away from her leg. The skin was smooth and healthy, without even a scar to show what had happened.

Logan caught his breath in wonder. "You have a healing factor as well?" She looked at him with a sympathetic expression on her face as she peeled away the bandage on her stomach. _For_ _all he knows he is the only one like him. What a lonely existence_...

"Not quite as pronounced as yours, Logan, but close." She turned slightly and Logan immediately began to remove the gauze from her back, careful not to rip the tape too quickly.

"I have not eaten properly for several months. And knowing that I was being tracked for the last several days, I have not slept, either. My healing factor has been concerned with keeping me alive, not necessarily healthy. Proper care and a long sleep was all I needed." Taking a few steps away from the bed, she tested her legs until she was sure they wouldn't collapse on her, then stretched like a cat and paced briskly on the balls of her feet, tensing and stretching muscles until she was satisfied. Then starting at one end of the room, she leisurely rolled through a succession of cartwheels and handsprings, hyper-pointing her toes and arching her back almost to the breaking point. Landing after a double somersault in the air, she cracked her toes and ankles then climbed back onto the bed as if nothing had happened. The men looked at her with amused expressions, but said nothing.

"When I commented about not being referred to as a child, Professor, I was talking about our age difference. It is not what you think." He arched his eyebrows in surprise, but she continued before he could say anything. "The truth is that I am older than you, Charles. And younger than Logan." She turned to give Logan a saucy wink. "Though not by much." Logan and the professor looked at her in surprise, but she just settled back against the pillows with a smug look on her face. "That was not what you expected, was it?" Charles shook his head and smiled.

"It only makes us that much more interested in your story." She sighed.

"There is so much, I do not know where to start...but I am sure that you will be doubly interested in helping when I am finished, because it is Logan's vendetta as well." Logan looked at her with a shocked gaze, and she held it seriously for a long moment until the professor spoke quietly.

"Then why don't you start at the beginning?" She nodded decisively, then took a deep breath.


	3. History

_A/N - Thanks so much to Racetrack's Goil and Carmilla for alerting me to the Mary Sue factor. Can you believe that I didn't actually know what an MS was and had to go research? Anyways, a little adjusting and I hope this is better. Let me know if there's more I can do.  
Also, I'm a little fuzzy on the Russian -ovich endings for names. Something is telling me that it's the masculine version. What's the feminine? And also the nicknames for Victor and Nikka in the next chapter. Is there a better way to do those?_

"My name is Nikkola Anastasia Pietrovich Creed. Nicole for short, Nikka to a select...well, to a select one." She smiled slightly in Logan's direction, then stared unseeingly at the wall, staring into the past. The two men were immediately captivated by her soft accent, now more apparent.

"I was born in Russia, in 1913. Myself, and my older brother Victor...are mutants. In the modern day, our father, Pietro, would have been a staunch anti-mutant advocate. He hated us for what we were...for what we had no control over being.

"Victor and I had some similar mutant characteristics. We both had heightened senses, increased speed, strength and agility. We also had sharp claws, slitted pupils, and fangs. But that is where the similarities ended. I was more agile, Victor was stronger, and I had a telepathic ability as well. And for the physical characteristics, the eyes, teeth and nails...while I discovered mine later and could conceal them, Victor was born with his and could not hide what he was. Whatever our father could have been to us, that changed everything. He hated Victor for what he was...hated my mother for ruining his son..and before he hated me for being a mutant, he hated me for being the same gender as my mother.

"My brother's life...was a living hell. Imprisoned in the basement, he was tortured by my father for as long as I could remember in my young life. I never knew what went on down there, and I never wanted to know. All I know was that I sometimes had to take meals down to Victor, and some of those experiences were...not pleasant. My father's treatment of Victor had given him two minds. One was normal, rational, even admirable. But the other...my father accused Victor of being a monster, and so that was what he created.

"You have to understand, that when Victor was sane, he was the most wonderful older brother a young girl could ask for. And I loved him dearly. I...love...him dearly. When I think of Victor, it is those quiet conversations, those good memories, that I remember. All else is unbearable."

Nicole's voice drifted off as she lost herself in memory. Just before Logan moved to touch her hand, her gaze cleared and she took a deep breath, her gaze again fixing on the wall.

"I remember one night when I was fifteen, listening to Victor's screams from my room. I heard my father come upstairs, and get ready for bed. My...my mother must have said something...something against my father, for the next screams I heard were hers. But suddenly, they stopped..."

Charles and Logan watched in concern as Nicole's eyes slid shut and a tear slid down her cheek. After a quiet moment, she took a shuddering breath and continued, her voice shaky.

"The next thing I heard was my father going outside, and the sound of a shovel against the cold ground. The next morning, there was a fresh pile of dirt just outside the treeline. I obviously never saw my mother again."

After holding each of their gazes for a moment, Nicole shifted her weight against the headboard of the bed.

"I did not think that I could sleep that night, but I must have, for the next thing I knew, the sun was shining through my window. I got up and looked in the mirror...and saw my brother's eyes looking back at me. I opened my mouth and saw my brother's fangs. I raised my hands and saw my brother's claws. And for the first time in my life I was truly afraid. In a moment of panic, I clenched my eyes shut and fisted my hands. When I relaxed again, I was back to normal."

Nicole laughed softly.

"That almost scared me more than seeing my mutation. But I could feel my father's mind and knew that he was still asleep. For the moment, I was safe. So before I left my room I knew how to change from one to the other in a split-second. And in the weeks and months that followed, I slowly trained my body to react. To save me, if necessary.

"It was in training myself to react that I actually made my mistake. Because one day when I was taking food to Victor, he lunged towards me. I fell back, claws and teeth ready to defend myself. Victor stopped dead in his tracks and just smiled. I will never forget that smile.

"If I thought life was hard before my father knew, it was a thousand times more difficult once my brother told him what I was. I became a slave, only alive to care for my father who was too lazy and too pompous to do anything himself. My only blessing was that he did not touch me, preferring to take his aggression out on my brother. I was...below the effort, I suppose.

"By this time, I was nineteen. And my life was about to take a turn for the worse again. One night, my brother escaped from his prison. He found my father and killed him in his bed, then found me in mine."

Logan watched as Nicole flinched at the memory and he could feel his anger rising. He could imagine what Victor would have done to her when he found her, and his thoughts were only confirmed by Nicole's next words.

"Whatever lies my father told Victor, his mind was poisoned against me, against my gender, really. I wished I could have died that night. The next morning we took only what we could carry, and we left our home forever. Victor burned it as we walked away.

"The next few months we just roamed, following the seasons, just surviving. It was in the dead of winter when my life changed for the better, finally.

"We had found a small cave to shelter us from a storm. I was...in trouble. In that cave, even with what was going on, even with what had happened to bring us to that point, I never loved my brother more fiercely than I did then.

"His mind changes were not instant. He would become confused, disoriented, and then...whatever he wasn't a few moments before. When I saw the confusion on his face that night...I have never been more relieved."

Nicole drew her knees up to her chest and clenched her eyes shut again, remembering. When she opened her eyes again, they were moist with tears.

"My brother was a fully grown man, in his twenties, and yet he did not know some of the basic things about life. He did not know what was happening to me, only that somehow, he must be responsible for it. It was tearing him up inside..."

Again, Nicole's voice faded to nothing. The two men could do nothing but sit and watch as tears streamed down her face. Her lips moved slightly, and suddenly Charles and Logan could hear a young man's deep, accented voice in their heads, his words matching those Nicole was whispering.

"_Nikkola...do not cry. Shah, child, it will be alright. Nicole... Nikkola, please... I am so sorry, small one, I did not mean to. You know I did not mean to. Nikkola, please say it will be alright, please forgive me. Say it will be alright... _

"_Nicole, I must go for help, I must save you. I have to find a way. I will be right back, I will only be gone for a second. Do not cry, darling. Your brother will make it right. I will make it right again, Nikkola."_

The room was silent for many moments before Nicole took a deep breath. When she spoke, the two men flinched at the dead sound.

"By the time Victor returned, it was too late. I had already given birth, had killed the child as I delivered it, and had hidden the body away from the cave. My brother would never know that he once had a son."

She looked at the expressions on Charles and Logan's faces, and frowned defiantly.

"You do not understand. I was merciful. If my brother had gotten his hands on that baby when he was not himself...it would have taken days for it to die. I saved its life by taking it." Her chin raised recklessly, daring them to say she was wrong. But Logan noticed that even as she made her point her lower lip quivered slightly, mourning the life she had taken.

"But that does not matter now," Nicole said firmly. "What matters is who Victor brought back to save his little sister, his darling. We were in the wilds of Siberia, and yet my brother found someone who was willing to come." She laughed slightly.

"You have to understand that Victor was not a small man. At eight, he was as big as I am now. Fully grown, he was close to seven feet tall. Well over three hundred pounds. Any offspring he produced would be...not good for someone so small-boned as I. After delivering, I was losing blood fast and my healing factor could not catch up. And my life was saved by a stranger who was traveling through Siberia after finishing training as a samurai in Japan."

Nicole looked towards Logan, and just held his gaze with her own. After a moment his eyes widened in shock and he stood abruptly, his mouth open.

"Me?! It was me?" She just nodded quietly, giving him as long as he needed before she continued with her story. Finally he sat down, still in shock.

"I met you in 1933. And after I regained consciousness, you introduced yourself...as James William Logan." Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"I have known you for over seventy years. And by your own admission, I know everything there is to know about you, Logan." He shut his eyes and shook his head slightly. When he opened them again, he met her gaze and motioned for her to continue. She nodded back decisively.

"You knew exactly what had happened to me, and you kept my secret. You stayed with us, becoming my self-proclaimed protector and bodyguard. You learned to weather Victor's mood changes as well as I, and we grew closer.

"We were not always roaming. We crossed the ocean. Came to America. Settled in Canada. And all three of us joined the army. We became part of a top secret project known as the Weapons Program, a special division for mutants like us. We were given codenames...two to be exact. You were Wolverine, Weapon X. I was Wildcat, Weapon XI." Nicole stopped to study Logan's face carefully. His expression was now open, taking in the information and processing it as quickly as he could.

"The 'X' is not a letter in this case. It is Roman numeral ten. Chronologically, we were weapons nine, ten, and eleven. Before that and beyond that, I do not know anything about the other mutants, only that there were some before, and possibly some after. It was our healing factor that set us apart from everyone else and made us part of the program. We were trained as part of the army, and carried out specific missions that needed a more...analytical weapon. And we loved our lives. But again, it was too good to last long.

"There was a new aspect of the program that they wanted to implement. But the success rate was...not good, to say the least. It would make a better, stronger soldier, but only those that could survive it would be of any use. And only those with a healing factor could have a chance at surviving it. So it needed 'volunteers'. Only nobody volunteered. We may be mutants, we may have been considered little more than animals, but life is precious even to an animal. We refused." She shook her head.

"It was again my brother who turned life upside down. One night, late, we awoke to see him standing in our bedroom door, confused and penitent. 'They are coming', he said. 'I am so sorry.' And we knew exactly what he meant..." Nicole's brow furrowed and she squinted.

"I do not...I do not know how to describe what happened next. May...may I show you?" When both men nodded, she licked her lips and blinked once, and they were instantly seeing from her point of view.

_Logan was laying on his left side, facing the door. With her right arm draped across him, Nicole supported herself on her left arm and squinted at the light behind Victor. _

"_What did you do, Victor?" He shuffled his feet anxiously._

"_I am so sorry, Nikkola. They are coming. Now."_

_With a growl, Logan launched himself out of the bed towards Victor. _

"_You told them where we were?!" Victor flinched._

"_I am sorry, Logan. I did not want to." Controlling his anger, Logan clenched his fists._

"_I know Victor. I know you didn't mean to. But now we have to go." His gaze was dark and menacing when he looked up at the taller man. _

"_Take only what you can carry and run for the woods. We'll meet you there. Get out of here while you still can." Victor looked beyond him to where Nicole was hurriedly stuffing clothing and other items into a backpack. With their acute hearing, they picked up the sound of several helicopters heading in their direction._

"_Victor, go now!" Nicole shouted, and the big man turn and raced down the hall. _

_Cursing under his breath, Logan joined Nicole in packing the army-issued pack. When she reached under the bed to grab his backpack as well, he held onto her wrist._

"_No, Nikka. There's just time for the one." She looked in confusion as he buckled the pack and helped her settle it on her back, then took her elbow and headed to the door. While she had taken a minute to throw on some clothes, he was still only clad in a pair of baggy sleep shorts._

"_Logan...what are you doing?" His gaze was guarded and his jaw clenched._

"_Someone has to stay behind, Nikka. Someone has to keep them from following." Nicole's eyes widened and she felt her heart begin to race._

"_You cannot...Logan, you cannot stay behind." When he didn't reply, she grabbed his arm and swung him around to face her._

"_I am not leaving you!" Whatever Logan said was drowned out by the sound of two army helicopters landing in front of the house. Both Nicole and Logan snarled and ran towards the window at the back of the room._

"_Nikka, you have to. It's the only way." She shook her head in panic, her breath coming in short gasps._

"_I do not want to go without you. I can help you, we can fight together. Logan, this is what we do!" Logan turned the full force of his anger towards her._

"_Not tonight, Nikka! We won't win this fight! And I won't let them capture you! I'm not going to lose you!" Nicole was now crying openly, trying to hold onto Logan._

"_But what about you?! I do not want to lose you either!" For one brief moment Logan held Nikka in his arms and kissed her desperately. But it was over too soon, and he was pushing her away again._

"_Nikka, if they take me, you're the only one who will be able to find me again. You're the only one I know who can find me. Track me. Hunt me down, and rescue me. I know you can do it." Nicole shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks._

"_I...will not...leave you, James!"_

_As heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs and towards their room, Logan grabbed Nicole's arms tightly. With one last kiss he looked deep into her eyes._

"_You don't have a choice, Nikkola." With that one last look, he threw her backwards out the window. Glass shattered around her and she was falling, but true to her animal counterpart she twisted in midair and landed on her feet, running. Once she reached the treeline she turned to look into their bedroom window to see Logan fighting furiously with seemingly dozens of men. With her hands covering her mouth to deaden the sound of her crying, she watched as Logan was finally taken down and dragged from the room. _

_Flashlights illuminated an area close to her, leading soldiers who were looking behind the house for herself and her brother. Even as her heart was breaking for leaving Logan behind, her feet carried her silently away from the house, away from her captors._

Again the room was silent. When Nikkola finally opened her eyes, her gaze instantly connected with Logan's.

"That was nearly twenty years ago, about a year and a half before your present memories begin." She shook her head in despair and frustration.

"When the soldiers finally left, Victor found me in the woods and I was forced to run. But I did find your scent, followed your trail for as long as I could. It led me to Alkali Lake, but I lost it above the dam, and could not find it again. The longer I looked, the more hopeless it became, and I finally knew that I would not find you, no matter how hard I tried. Giving up was the hardest thing I have ever done, and something I berate myself for even now, but I had searched for you for over a year. The disappointment and condemnation that I felt for myself was renewed everyday for the last nineteen years, ever since I gave up the search. Even long after the memory of your face left my mind..."

Nikkola found herself drowning in Logan's eyes, just like she had the first time they saw each other. His dark gaze spoke volumes and yet nothing, all at the same time, and she could feel herself falling for him all over again. It wasn't until the professor gently cleared his throat that she managed to tear her gaze away from his.

"Nicole, could you please tell us the circumstances that led up to you being attacked in the woods?" Nicole shook her head to clear it, then squinted in concentration.

"I had been roaming again for the last nineteen years, relatively in peace. Three years ago I caught a glimpse of my brother, Victor, in New York City. I knew that if I had seen him, he had most likely seen me as well. So I retreated to the woods where it is easier for me to protect myself. Two weeks ago, I noticed signs in the surrounding area that pointed to Victor's presence. He found me yesterday and we fought. For the last few years he had been searching for me, intent on killing me. And he almost succeeded, but I did manage to escape. Even wounded, I laid a trail that he could not easily follow. I knew I had wounded him as well, so the longer I could last, the less likely it would be that he would take the time to find me. He would wait until he had healed fully, and then pick up the trail again. I found no sign that he had followed me at all last night, and this afternoon I managed to find you before he found me."

As Nicole was talking, the professor's brow was growing more and more furrowed. When she finished and sat back against the headboard expectantly, he looked intently at her.

"Did you say that you saw Victor in New York three years ago?" When she nodded, he frowned again.

"Can you please describe exactly what he looks like?" Nicole frowned, but complied with a nod.

"I don't know his exact height and weight, but he is near seven feet tall, and over three hundred pounds. He has long blonde hair, feline eyes, black curved claws, fangs, and he wears animal furs." Logan stood abruptly, his chair skidding back along the floor.

"Sabertooth," he growled savagely. Nicole nodded immediately.

"Yes. That was his codename in the Weapons program." She shook her head at the dark expression on Logan's face.

"I see that the two of you have met again. He did not say anything about your past?" Logan shook his head, still glaring. Nicole nodded, not surprised.

Professor Xavier finally sighed slowly, and backed his wheelchair away from the bed.

"Thank you, Nikkola, for sharing this with us. I know it must have been hard." Nicole just smiled.

"It needed to be said." The professor nodded in understanding, then slowly moved towards the door.

"I will leave you now, and see what I can do about finding your brother. Please feel free to move about the mansion as you wish. The others have been alerted to your presence and are expecting to see you at some point." Nicole nodded her thanks, and watched as the door silently swung shut behind the professor. When the room was silent again she turned towards Logan, who was standing by a window. After a moment he turned towards her with an unreadable expression on his face. Seconds later he spoke quietly.

"I've got a lot to think about, but would you be willin' to sit down later and tell me about me?" Nicole smiled softly.

"For as long as it takes before you are satisfied, Logan." He nodded once, then silently made his way out of the room, leaving Nikkola alone.

When he was gone, Nicole considered leaving as well and seeing who else inhabited the mansion, but instead she curled into a ball on her bed, staring off into space. Seconds later she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," she called, and the door opened to expose the red haired woman from earlier that day. Nicole quirked her brow slightly, and the woman cleared her throat.

"My name is Jean Grey. I'm the doctor." Nikkola's eyebrows rose in shock, then in mockery.

"I apologize, Dr. Grey, but I have no broken bones for you to practice setting." Jean's cheeks colored in consternation.

"I'm very sorry for earlier. I shouldn't have concentrated that hard." Nicole smiled slightly.

"It is all right, Dr. Grey. On a normal day it would take much more than that to damage me. My name is Nikkola. You can call me Nicole if you want." Jean nodded and smiled.

"And you can just call me Jean. Only the kids call me Dr. Grey." Nicole's smile grew broader, and for the next few minutes the women chatted amiably as Jean checked Nicole's injuries. Finding no sign that they even existed, she asked if Nicole would like to shower. The response was instantaneous.

"Oh, Jean, that would be absolutely heavenly!" With another grin, the two new friends headed to a suite of rooms that had a private bathroom. Jean ran to her own room to grab some extra clothes and toiletries, as well as to the kitchen for a tray of food, then left Nicole to get make herself at home.


	4. Cerebro

Forty minutes later, Logan met Jean outside Nicole's new room. The dark man was in a slight panic, and his voice was unintentionally brusque when he asked Jean if she knew where Nicole was. The woman raised her eyebrow slightly.

"She's in this room now, Logan. She's been taking a shower since you left." Logan's eyes widened in shock.

"It's been almost an hour, Jean! Are you sure she's still in there? What if she's gone?" Jean shook her head and sighed.

"She's still there, Logan. She wouldn't leave without talking to you. Besides, she hasn't had a proper shower for three years. Let her enjoy it." Logan just shook his head. He knocked sharply on the door and waited impatiently until he heard Nicole's voice inviting him to enter. Jean headed back down the hall, shaking her head with a wry smile.

No lights were on in Nicole's room, and it was slightly dim because of the setting sun. Logan's eyes instantly adjusted, however, and seconds later Nicole walked out of the steamy bathroom, wrapped in a short towel.

"Oh, Logan, I thought it would be you." She smiled and turned towards the mirror, combing out her long hair.

"Yeah, the professor told me to come and get you. He wants to talk to you about your brother." Nicole nodded and then bent slightly, her hair falling in front of her face. When she was done combing it, she threw her head back and let her hair fall loosely. A few soft strands whispered across Logan's face as she did so, and he could smell the fresh scent of mayflowers and rain.

Logan watched her hair cascade over her back and squinted slightly, a memory of a similar scene playing the deep recesses of his mind, pressing to come to the forefront. He concentrated as hard as he could, trying to remember where he had seen it before.

_It was a sunny day, and they were deep in the mountains by a green lake. Nicole's back was towards him and she flipped her hair, spraying him with water. He must have said something, because her lips tipped up into a playful smile and she replied in kind. Logan saw his hand reaching towards Nicole and rest on her upper arm, and she turned slightly towards him, the sun shining off her pale skin. His fingers lightly skimmed her arm and traveled across her shoulder to her neck, then stroked the soft skin under her ear. Nikkola closed her eyes and murmured something else, and his hand splayed across her back. Then his hands were at her waist, and her back was arching to--_

Logan clenched his eyes shut and shook his head. The rest of the memory was gone, back into the locked corners of his past. When he opened his eyes again, Nicole was standing in front of him with a questioning look on her face, dressed in clothes that he recognized as Jean's. They were quite a bit more baggy on her slight frame.

"Logan, what is it?"

He shook his head, puzzled.

"I don't know, Nicole. It's like I can remember something, but only bits and pieces of it. I saw part of where we were, but I don't know exactly where it was, or what was going on. And I can't get at the rest of the memory to clear it up." Nicole nodded and frowned slightly, looking into Logan's eyes. Seconds later her brow smoothed and she grinned.

"What do you mean you do not know what was going on?" Logan shrugged.

"I just got parts of the memory. It's kinda dicey." Nicole laughed slightly as she headed towards the door.

"We were in a beautiful setting with no one else around, and we are codenamed after animals. What do you think was going on?" With a shake of her head, she disappeared out of sight around the corner, and Logan was left with a slack jaw. It took a moment for him to gather his wits and head out the door behind her, and he finally caught up with her halfway down the hall.

"You know where you're goin', Nicole?" She grinned up at him and shook her head.

"I am going to where the professor is. Did you not say he wanted to speak with me?" Logan nodded and was about to direct her towards the elevator, but she took the corner before he could say anything. Understanding dawned on Logan's face.

"You're following his scent." Nicole grinned and tapped the side of her head.

"You are correct, Wolverine. Not too bad for a domesticated pet. Maybe there is hope for you." Once again Logan was left with his mouth hanging open and Nicole threw back her head and laughed out loud.

"Does no one in this mansion tease you, Logan?" He chuckled ruefully and shook his head.

"I'm the tough guy. They're all too worried about offending me." Nicole shook her head with a mocking expression on her face and patted his cheek.

"Now that I do not believe. You are nothing more than a giant teddy bear." Logan grabbed her wrist and snarled playfully.

"Pat my cheek again, alley cat, and I'll remove your hand."

The merry light in Nikkola's eyes suddenly turned serious and her mouth opened slightly in shock.

"What did you just call me?" Logan frowned at the look on her face.

"Alley cat. Why?"

_Nikkola's face was flushed, and the sound of her laughter floated over the small valley they had found. Logan's teasing was relentless, and she could barely catch a breath from laughing so hard._

"_Well, I mean look at you, Nikka. You're nothing more than a scrappy, mangy little alley cat." Nicole's eyes widened and she sputtered indignantly._

"_Alley cat? I cannot believe you just said that, Logan!" Logan just laughed at the look on her face, and so was caught off guard when her expression grew crafty and she threw a stick at him, launching herself after it. The two friends tumbled down the hill locked in a wrestler's hold, laughing the entire way._

Logan slowly licked his lips and gradually loosened his hold on Nicole's wrist until they were no longer touching. The expression on the tiny woman's face was solemn as she watched Logan's eyes for signs that he was remembering anything else. Logan cleared his throat.

"When was that?" Nicole didn't even hesitate.

"Two summers after we met, in the Black Sea area. It became one of your favorite pet names for me. I have not heard it for twenty years." Logan nodded absently, and then a second later he motioned for Nicole to continue down the hall. The duo was silent for the second half of the brief walk, and it was only when Nicole stopped in front of a large vault door at the end of a hallway that she turned to Logan again.

"Do you know what he wants to talk to me about?" Logan shrugged and nodded slowly.

"Kinda. I don't think it's good, Nicole." The small blonde nodded, her face reflective.

"You said that it was about my brother?" Logan nodded again.

"I think Xavier found him." Nicole's eyes snapped to his, but the door slid open at that moment and she didn't have a chance to reply. As she walked into the room, she felt her jaw drop at what she saw.

A narrow walkway led out to a small circular platform in the middle of an immense, perfectly spherical room. The lighting and the curved walls made it impossible to estimate how big the room really was, and when Nikkola chanced a look over the side of the walkway, she couldn't make out the bottom of the globe. On the dais in front of a small console was Professor Xavier, who was waiting patiently for her. When she finally turned her attention to him, he smiled at the look on her face and spoke in a low voice.

"This is Cerebro. In layman's terms, it is an extremely powerful computer that amplifies my telepathic power so I can reach any mutant on the planet." Nicole nodded, her eyes squinting.

"Logan said that you had found Victor." Xavier nodded solemnly.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news, Nicole. Three years ago, I believe Victor was exposed to some radiation that may have altered his healing factor. The injuries he sustained in this last fight with you are not healing; he is dying." Nicole grew completely still for a moment, her gaze fixed intently on Xavier's.

"Dying?" The professor nodded compassionately.

"I'm sorry, Nikkola. I don't think he has much time left, so I brought you here to find out what you wanted to do." Nikkola's head dropped for a second as she tried to wrap her mind around the news. After a moment she looked up, her face set into an countenance reminiscent of Logan's non-expression.

"Do you know where he is exactly, or even if he is still alive?" Xavier wheeled around to the console, reaching for the skeletal helmet.

"I can find out for sure. What will you do with the information?" Nicole didn't hesitate.

"Go to him. Stay with him until he is gone." Nikkola stepped closer to the console, watching the professor at the controls. Instinctively she knew not to move, and as the room seemed to melt away, she watched in awe as the walls of Cerebro took on the appearance of a three-dimensional globe of the world. The continents were covered with red and white lights, but the white lights soon faded away and the red rushed towards them, soon isolating the globe to the northeastern coast of the United States, then the state of New York. Nicole watched all this in awe, her mind working furiously to take it in, all the while wondering how it worked and if she could try it.

Xavier chuckled slightly.

"For someone who does not want me inside her head, you certainly are projecting your thoughts a great deal." Nicole shot back to the present and smiled wryly.

"You caught that, did you?" The walls around them slowly faded back to the original grey, and Charles removed the helmet. He wheeled back from the console and turned to face her.

"I don't know how powerful your telepathic ability is, but I would be willing to coach you through the process if you are willing to try it." Nikkola's jaw dropped slightly.

"You would do that? You would let me find my brother?" Xavier nodded, his face solemn.

"But I warn you now that Cerebro is not for the weak. If you wouldn't mind a test..."

Nicole nodded immediately and knelt in front of the wheelchair.

"What would you like me to do, Professor?" Charles searched her gaze carefully, and obviously found what he was looking for.

"There is a young boy somewhere on the property whom I think you have already met. He was the one who allowed you an escape route earlier today. Do you remember?" Nicole nodded.

"The small one with the brown hair. Yes, I remember." Charles nodded as well.

"His name is Jeff and he has heightened senses, as well as some other abilities. I want you to introduce yourself. Ask him why he was giving you an opportunity to flee."

Nikkola immediately reached out with her mind, searching for the small boy. Seconds later she smiled, and soon after looked up at Xavier.

"He says that I looked like a caged animal who was going to escape one way or another. He was just providing a relatively painless way...for everyone." Charles smiled as well, having followed her thoughts and hearing the same thing from Jeff.

"Excellent, Nikkola. There is just one more thing I need to be sure." Nicole knew what he was going to do, and nodded her agreement. The two telepaths leaned forward slightly, their concentration flowing into the astral plane.

In the depths of psionic space, Xavier's consciousness raced towards where he knew Nikkola was waiting. When he reached her, he was immediately encompassed by an awareness that surprised him with its depth. He pulled back slightly in shock, then probed deeper. Nikkola's psi was stronger than any other he had ever encountered, even slightly stronger than Jean's. He immediately knew that she could operate Cerebro as well as he with some help, and withdrew with the information.

Nikkola blinked once, and waited for him to speak. Charles shook his head and smiled.

"I had no idea, Nikkola. With a little coaching, you will have no problem with Cerebro." Nicole stood immediately, and then knelt in front of the console, placing the helmet over her head as Charles instructed, taking a deep breath after she did so.

"The basic principle behind Cerebro is simple. You think into it, and it amplifies your power to a global level. You just need to relax." Nicole closed her eyes with another breath, and focused her mind with a simple exercise she had learned in the army. When she opened her eyes, her mouth opened in amazement at the sight and feeling of the room dropping away into nothing, like a giant roller-coaster. She was looking at the giant map of the world as if she were inside the core looking outward.

One corner of her mind concentrated on the instructions Xavier was feeding her telepathically while the rest complied with them, muting out the white lights that represented the 'normal' humans and focusing on the scarlet lights that were mutants. Just for fun she mentally spun around the globe and laughed delightedly at the huge number of lights displayed, before settling on the eastern seaboard as Xavier had earlier. It only took a second for her to isolate New York, and then she concentrated on finding Victor's unique mental signature, a sense of urgency to her thoughts.

Suddenly she latched onto the familiar voice, and raced towards him. He was still in the forest, only a few hundred meters away from where they had fought. Nikkola felt a tear trickle down her cheek at the pain and despair she felt in his mind, and she took a moment to confer telepathically with Xavier.

_Can I talk to him through Cerebro?_ Charles mentally nodded his head, and Nikkola took a breath and blinked once.

_Victor..._ She recognized the confusion and surprise that her brother felt, and instantly wrapped a psionic blanket around his mind, calming him down. Her lower lip trembled slightly in relief when she realized that he was indeed in his right mind.

_It is Nikkola. I am here, Vilya_. Nicole felt his relief and almost cried when he tried to hide his pain from her.

_Victor, I am so sorry. I had no idea you could not heal_. Victor rebuked her for apologizing and began to apologize instead, berating himself for attacking her. Nikkola shook her head and stopped him.

_We do not have time for apologies, Victor. Can you hang on for a little while longer? I am coming to find you._ Her lip trembled again when she felt him hesitate, pain and fear filling his mind.

_Vilya, you can hang on. You must hang on. I will be there soon._ She could feel him slipping and called one last final plea before racing away, returning to the platform in the spherical room where Xavier was waiting with wonder in his eyes.

"Your abilities are truly amazing, Nikkola. I haven't found anyone else who can handle Cerebro with such ease and natural talent." Nicole nodded quickly, barely acknowledging the praise, her mind set on her brother.

"Professor, I need to leave. Victor will not last long, and I have to see him before he dies." Xavier immediately nodded and they exited the room, the vault door hissing closed behind them.

"I thought that was what you would want to do. Logan, Jean, and Scott are already waiting for you in the Blackbird. I have given them the coordinates, and they only require you before they leave." Nikkola nodded absently, her mind only half concentrating on what the professor was saying. When it finally sunk in, she stopped mid-step and looked at him quizzically.

"Blackbird?"


	5. Victor

Nikkola Creed had seen some amazing things in her lifetime. Since she had been born in 1913, she had witnessed the birth of almost every modern technological wonder, and her stint in the army had made her privy to the highest technology the world had to offer at the time. But nothing prepared her for the sleek computer that was the Blackbird. She tried to rank it on her running list of marvels, but soon gave up and just put it at the top. Besides, she needed most of her concentration to fly the darn thing.

Jean grinned at the look on Nicole's face when she first stepped into the cockpit. Scott had given Nicole a quick tour of the outside of the plane, and now it was Jean's turn for the inside. A thought occurred to her, and she instantly acted on it.

"Nicole, you don't happen to know how to fly, do you?" The blonde looked at her in surprise, but nodded.

"Actually, yes I do. I was taught how to fly both jets and helicopters when I was in the army. I enjoyed it immensely." Jean nodded decisively, and looked at Scott who nodded as well.

"How would you like to fly the Blackbird?" Nicole's eyes widened and she grinned broadly.

"Did you even have to ask?"

Seconds later she was strapped into the pilot's seat, running her hands over the controls and acquainting herself with them. In the copilot's seat, Scott was giving her a quick refresher course, as well as outlining the differences between the high performance jet and the planes she had been used to flying. The pre-flight checklist went off without a hitch, and Nikkola took to the air with the same expertise that she had demonstrated with Cerebro, her mind tapped into Jean's, who was also an accomplished pilot.

The closer she got to the forest, however, the more anxious she grew. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't establish a mindlink with Victor, and she kept telling herself it was only because they hadn't come into contact with each other since the attack twenty years ago. She still feared the worst, however, and tried to prepare herself for what she might see when they found him.

After landing the jet softly in the clearing where the van had parked earlier, Nikkola silently unhooked her harness and lowered the ramp, walking out onto the grass. The three other adults followed just as silently, and stood waiting for her to speak. It took several minutes, but finally she turned towards Jean.

"If you would not mind accompanying me, Jean, I would like to bring Victor here, into the clearing. Your telekinesis will come in handy." Jean nodded immediately, and the two women disappeared into the woods. Scott and Logan shot each other a look, then settled down to wait.

Jean struggled to keep up with Nikkola as the smaller woman moved with purpose throught the trees. Just as she was about to ask her to slow down, however, Nikkola came to a sudden halt and Jean almost crashed into her. When she looked up and saw where they were, her breath caught in her throat.

The two women were standing in what could only be described as a battle zone. There were huge trees uprooted, laying on the ground, and others had large chunks taken out of them or scratches etched deep in the wood. The ground was also torn up, with what looked like skid marks and gouges in some areas, and body-sized depressions in other areas. But it was the absolute silence that caught Jean's attention, as if the birds and animals were still frightened to come close to the scene.

Jean could feel her jaw drop as she realized, belatedly, that the trees and the ground were splashed with an unnatural amount of blood. Her eyes wide, she almost missed the fact that Nikkola was once again moving, and Jean ran to catch up with her, shivering slightly. At the edge of the fabricated clearing, Nikkola again stopped abruptly and tilted her head, listening intently. Jean strained her ears as well, but only heard what sounded like the wind sighing through the trees. Nicole instantly broke into a run.

"Vilya!"

Jean sprinted after the other woman, trying her best to keep up, even though Nikkola moved through the trees like she was running over open ground. Losing sight of her once or twice, Jean forced herself to move faster, not wanting to lose Nikkola in the forest. After several minutes, Nicole slowed to a jog, then a walk. Finally she held up her hand and Jean stayed in the shadows while Nicole moved cautiously into another small clearing by a stream.

What Nikkola saw there broke her heart. Her older brother was lying brokenly at the foot of a large tree, wedged in between two roots with his back to the trunk. His eyes were closed, but flickered open weakly when she called his name softly, and he whispered hers back through cracked lips.

"Koulya..." Nikkola was instantly at his side, her small hands framing his large face and running over his broad shoulders.

"Vilya, I am here." Victor tried to move, but Nicole pressed him back against the tree trunk.

"Victor, do not move." With quick hands she moved his clothing aside and saw a multitude of cuts and bruises across his chest and stomach. One side of his torso was mottled black and blue, and she vaguely remembered one blow that fell there hard enough to break ribs. Her eyes clenched shut when she saw some of the cuts laid open to the bone, and she fisted her hands so tightly the blood drained from her fingers. Her voice broke when she tried to speak, so she swallowed and tried again.

"Vilya, I am so sorry. Please...will you please forgive me?" His huge hand waved in front of her face weakly.

"Koulya, there is nothing to forgive. I am the one who is sorry. I am the one who attacked you for no reason." Nicole shook her head defiantly, then waved for Jean to approach.

"Victor, this is a friend of mine. Her name is Jean Grey, and she is a doctor. She is also a mutant, and she will help me get you into the open. We are going to save you, Vilya." Victor looked at Jean with blurry eyes and tried to smile, even as he nodded in recognition.

"I apologize...for not standing, Dr. Grey. My name is Victor Ivan Pietrovich Creed. It is a pleasure to meet you officially. We were not introduced the last time we saw each other...and for that, and for what happened...I am extremely sorry." Jean looked at Nicole with an unsure expression on her face, and Nicole realized that the two of them had been speaking in Russian. She quickly translated for Jean, who smiled graciously.

"The pleasure is all mine, Victor. And as for the last time we met, don't worry about it. I know there was nothing you could do." Victor nodded slowly and closed his eyes. Nicole felt his mind slipping slightly and nodded urgently to Jean who concentrated the full force of her considerable teke on the big man, who rose easily into the air. Nicole led the way back through the forest, making sure they skirted around the bloody battle scene. She had noticed how it affected Jean, and didn't want anything to break her concentration. While they walked, she aligned her mind with Jean's, giving the taller woman more strength and endurance.

Even with the two of their minds working together, the sight of the Blackbird was a very welcome one. As soon as Victor was lowered gently to the ground at the treeline, Scott's arms went around Jean, who gratefully leaned into them. Nikkola ran to the jet and grabbed a first aid kit that she had seen, even though she knew that it was too late, that they would not use it. She quickly said as much to Jean's mind, and nodded to herself when the other woman agreed.

As she jogged back towards her brother, her heart dropped when she saw the cruel expression on his face. Victor was looking straight at Logan who was looking back at him with an equally hostile appearance, although she could see that he was trying to remain calm. Nikkola, however, could feel her anger rising and did nothing to check it. She brushed past a concerned Scott and Jean without a look, and glared at the monster who was her brother.

"Sabertooth!" The man's head slowly turned in her direction, and he smiled viciously.

"Wildcat. It seems that I have won, after all. I am taking the last little whispers of your pitifully weak brother with me, and you will not be able to have those precious last minutes with him that I know you want." Nikkola gazed at him, her expression full of all the hate that she had ever felt for him.

"That is one thing that you will not take from me. I will spend my brother's last minutes with him, and not with the twisted monster who lords over half his mind." Sabertooth laughed at her with a sneer.

"There is nothing you can do to bring him back, Wildcat. You will never see your beloved brother again." Nikkola could feel her blood boiling at the expression on his face, and was about to do something when she felt Logan's hand on her arm. She turned to see the dark man with a warning expression on his face, and latched onto the calm that he was projecting.

"You are not going to gain anything by fighting with him, Nicole. He is already dying." Nicole took a deep breath and nodded, then turned back to the broken man lying in front of her. Only Scott and Jean drew back in surprise when they realized that they didn't understand any of the conversation between Logan and Nikkola. Both of them were speaking in Russian.

Nicole took a second deep breath, followed by a third. She thought through several calming exercises, and focused her mind sharply on what she knew she had to do. When she was ready, she opened her eyes and saw Sabertooth, lying with a pained expression on his face, supporting himself on one elbow. Even with distorted features, he still managed to exude a brutality that twisted Nikkola's own mouth, but she smoothed it into a smile. She could feel Logan beside her and tapped into his own strength to fuel her telepathic abilities. She smiled again.

"Burn in hell, Sabertooth. " Her hands flew up in front of her in a pushing motion, and Jean felt an enormous rush of psionic energy flow out of Nikkola's small body towards her brother. The blonde man convulsed and fell, his eyes rolling back in his head. Nikkola concentrated for just a moment more, then relaxed with a sigh. Logan caught her as her knees buckled, but she pushed him away and knelt beside her brother, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and cradling his head with gentle hands.

After a moment, Victor's eyes struggled open and he looked up at his sister, his dry lips stretching into a small smile.

"Koulya..." Nikkola smiled in relief and pressed her forehead to his.

"Vilya. It worked. He is gone." Victor's eyes slid shut with relief, then opened again slowly.

"I had hoped that I would spend my last moments with you. I know I do not deserve it, but I was afraid I would not see you before I died." Nikkola's chin trembled and she didn't reply except to strengthen her arms around her brother. She could feel him tiring, and took a shaky breath. Victor's eyes struggled to stay open, and he looked up at her quizzically.

"I did not know that you were that strong, Nikkola. You banished him with... barely an effort." Nicole smiled softly.

"I did not know either, until I did it. It took an effort, but nothing that I would not do again, Victor, and nothing that I wish I hadn't done sooner. Now you are free." Victor sighed in relief, and his body seemed to relax through the pain.

"Free. I am free." Nicole could not keep herself from crying anymore, and a single tear dripped off the end of her nose and landed on Victor's cheek. Her big brother gave her a ghost of a smile and she felt his hand put the tiniest bit of pressure on her arm. His eyes moved beneath his closed eyelids, and through a supreme effort he cracked them open. His breathing was now laboured, and his voice was so hushed Nicole had to strain to hear it. Scott, Jean and Logan leaned forward as well, even though only Logan could understand what was being said.

"Nicole...your backpack. I still have your backpack. And it still has...papers. All the papers are...still there. And the...necklace I took from you...when we fought. It is there as well." Nicole's eyes widened in shock.

"All the papers? They are all still there?" Victor nodded weakly.

"Everything...you took that night. Everything you packed...twenty years ago. It is all there." Nicole could see that he was fading fast, and it fueled the urgency she felt. Through his mind she could see her face growing dimmer and out of focus, and she gave him a shake.

"Victor, where is it? Where is the backpack?" Her brother swallowed thickly, his lips working slowly although no sound was coming. Nikkola shook him again, less gently this time, her voice growing louder and slightly shrill.

"Victor, where is the backpack? This is important!" Jean crouched down beside Nicole and felt for Victor's pulse, shaking her head as she did so.

"Nicole, he's almost gone." Nicole looked up with fire in her eyes, her jaw set determinedly.

"Not yet." Laying Victor down, she straddled his barrel chest above his broken ribs and reached for his hands. With a whispered apology she sliced his palms open with her lengthened black nails, then sliced her own. Pressing their palms together, she watched as their blood mingled for a split second before her cuts closed up. Without a word, she repeated the process a second and a third time without a response from Victor. The fourth time she noticed the slightest flinch around his eyes and grinned ruthlessly.

By the seventh time his breathing had strengthened, and on the tenth time, Nicole felt a little bit of strength leave her body. From where Logan was crouched beside her, he saw the smallest bit of red staining the shoulder of her shirt, and craned his neck to see tiny scratches appearing on her back. Scott and Jean watched with wide eyes as the rest of her wounds reopened slightly, Victor's blood harming her just as hers was helping him.

Finally, her face drawn with pain, Nicole opened her eyes to see Victor looking wearily up at her.

"The backpack...is hanging in the tree where you found me." Nikkola nodded and slid off him, her head dropping to rest on his chest. With an effort Victor separated their palms, and rested one injured hand on her back. It only took a minute for Nicole's wounds to start closing up and for Victor to start failing again, but in that moment the big blonde man looked up at Logan.

"Besides seeing Nicole as I died, the only other thing I wished for was to be reconciled with you. I do not know if I ever thanked you for protecting my sister when I could not...when I was what she needed protection from. I wished...things could have turned out differently. But you are here now, so that is a step...in the right direction. Will you forgive me for...the last seventy years?"

Logan grabbed the hand that was reaching towards him and gripped it tightly.

"There is nothing to forgive, Victor." The Russian tried to smile, but was too weak.

"So we...are reconciled, my brother?" Logan nodded and pressed the back of Victor's hand to his heart.

"We are reconciled." Victor's eyes closed and opened slowly, then focused on Nikkola who was looking at him with tears in her eyes. He put the tiniest bit of pressure on her back and she smiled softly. Swallowing thickly one last time, Victor pulled Nicole towards him.

"You...have freed me, Koulya. Now let me be free. Let me...go." Nikkola's face crumpled, but she nodded as she wrapped her arms around him again.

"Be free, Victor." Her brother gave the tiniest nod, then let his eyes close. Nicole watched him intently, feeling his chest rise and fall slowly. She could feel his heart beating slower and slower, until it finally stopped. With trembling lips, she called his name in a low voice.

"Victor?" And then brokenly: "Vilya?" Finally, Victor's darling, his baby sister, laid her head back down on his chest and wept.

There was silence in the clearing long after Nikkola's sobbing had ceased. Finally, Scott knelt beside her with a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Do you want to take him back to the mansion? We can arrange for a proper burial there." After a moment of thought, Nikkola shook her head, her voice hoarse from crying.

"He does not belong at the mansion, Scott, or in a graveyard. I will bury him here in the wild, where he was at home. Where we were at home." Scott nodded and stood beside Jean, and Logan immediately took Scott's place by Nikkola.

"Do you want help?" Another long moment of thought, and another shake of her head.

"I appreciate it the offer. But this is something I need to do on my own." Logan tilted his head and reached for Nicole's chin, forcing her to meet his eyes.

"Are you sure?" Nicole nodded again.

"I am sure, Logan. I will meet you back at the mansion tonight." Without another word, Logan rose and motioned for Scott and Jean to follow him.

As they boarded the Blackbird and prepped it for takeoff, Logan stood on the ramp and looked back at Nicole who was sitting forlornly by the body of her brother. He frowned slightly, wondering why his heart broke to see her like that, wondering what their relationship had been that he would feel such a pull to be with her. Finally, at a call from Jean, he walked the rest of the way onto the Blackbird and raised the ramp. He would find out when Nikkola returned to the mansion.


	6. Discoveries

It didn't take as long as Nikkola expected to bury Victor, but it was still several hours before she took one last look at his grave and turned away. Hoisting the old backpack onto her shoulders she set her face towards Xavier's and started to walk. The night had no moon and she felt at home in the almost pitch black. Her cats eyes let her see as well as she did in the day time, and her internal compass led her unerringly towards the mansion on Graymalkin Lane.

Nicole hadn't walked for very long before she caught the familiar scent of freshly cut grass and wind, and shook her head slightly.

"Did you not think I could find Xavier's on my own, Logan?" A shadow disengaged itself from a nearby tree and white teeth flashed in a smile.

"What I thought was that you might like some company, Cat." Logan was soon close enough to see Nicole's eyes still puffy from crying, although that was quickly mending itself. He gently grasped her hand and looked at her fingertips, noticing the dirt under the broken nails, and the shredded fingertips that were also healing rapidly. His gaze was open but probed hers deeply. Nikkola shrugged.

"I took his life with my hands. The least I could do would be to bury him with them." Logan shook his head slightly and was about to say something when he was suddenly seeing Victor through Nicole's eyes.

_The big man had come upon her unexpectedly, even though she had been tracking him for the last several days. Before she had time to react, he had grabbed her by the arm and swung her against a large tree. Stars danced through her head as she felt her arm snap, and she felt into a dazed heap. Sabertooth stood triumphantly over her, gloating. He reached down and grabbed her necklace, snapping it off her neck as if it were nothing. Nikkola tried to make a grab for it, but her hand weakly swung wide of its mark. _

_Showing a display of strength that would have floored anybody else, Sabertooth reached over her and ripped the tree up out of the ground, roots and all. As he stood there with the large willow balanced precariously over his head, he took one last minute to grin cruelly at her, gloating at the fact that he was about to finish her off and she could do nothing. That one moment was all she needed however, to get herself under control, and when he heaved the willow over his head, she rolled out of the way at the last second and came up swinging her good arm, claws extended. Her injured arm was held closely to her side until it finished healing, but she managed to get a few good hits in before Sabertooth could react._

_The next few minutes were a flurry of blows taken and given on both sides, and soon the tiny glade was splashed with blood. In a final surge of energy, Sabertooth tore his claws across her stomach with his left hand, and with his right carved a deep slice out of her thigh. Nikkola screamed, but still managed to kick him hard enough in the ribs to break several. They both recoiled in pain, but Nicole recovered first and came at Sabertooth with claws flying, tearing at his chest and arms. One blow was overthrown on her part, and as her body twisted away from him in the follow-through he reached up with his left hand and dragged his claws across her back. She spun around immediately, her right claws catching him across the ribs, then ran as fast as she could, only slowing to a walk when she could no longer hear him._

Logan snapped back to reality to see Nikkola looking at him with an unreadable expression.

"Do you see? I killed my brother. One of the only people who ever loved me." Logan shook his head, letting her hand drop to her side.

"No, Nicole. You did the world a favor and killed Sabertooth. You gave Victor a much deserved rest." Nicole looked up at him with pain in her eyes, but instead of replying, she turned and started to walk again. Logan silently fell into step beside her. After a few minutes, Nicole hesitantly reached for Logan's hand and gave it a squeeze, then let it go.

"Thank you, Logan." He didn't reply, but a small smile curled at the corner of his mouth. The rest of their silent journey seemed to fly by, and soon they were walking into the main entrance of Xavier's school, then down the hall to Nicole's room. Nicole opened the door and took a step inside to set down her backpack, then turned to look at Logan.

"Goodnight, Logan." Her companion scrutinized her face for a moment as if trying to decide something about her. Finally he blinked and took a deep breath.

"Goodnight, Nikka." Nikkola froze at the sound of her nickname and looked at Logan, her mouth slightly open. After twenty years of yearning to hear that name, her body couldn't remember how to operate once she did hear it. With her mind buzzing, all she could do was stare at Logan who was looking back at her with a solemn expression on his face.

Nikkola's limbs slowly regained life and she blinked owlishly. Then all of a sudden, without thinking about it, she was in Logan's arms and kissing him.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was telling herself that this was a bad idea, that she would pay for this later, that she had no right to kiss him after failing to rescue him, that someone could see them. But all her inner protests faded to nothing at the sensation of his lips on hers, his muscles moving beneath her hands, his arms around her, and him _kissing her back_?

Logan was caught by surprise when she first kissed him, but his astonishment quickly turned to an overwhelming sense of rightness and he kissed her in return, his arms slipping around her and holding her close.

Then, the memories started to pour in.

_The first time he looked at her as something more than a friend._

_The first time he hesitantly reached for her hand, and the way he felt when she grasped his back._

_The long talks they would have as they sat by a river or walked._

_The way she would look at him after he jumped between her and Sabertooth to defend her._

_The way her eyes glistened in the moonlight after their first kiss._

_The way both their hearts leapt when he told her he loved her, and when she told him the same in return._

_The secret looks she would give him when he did something that made her feel loved._

_The first time they made love; Nikkola hesitant and shy, Logan tender and gentle, chasing away every memory of her brother's evil side. Afterwards, holding her in his arms as she wept for her past._

_That day by the green mountain lake, Nikkola's smouldering looks and his own desire. The time was special..._

But why it was special, he couldn't remember. And frustrated by his lack of complete memory, he forgot his own strength and crushed Nikkola's lips, stopping only when he heard her whimper. He straightened in alarm, and was about to apologize but Nicole beat him to it, stepping away hurriedly. One hand flitted up to her bruised mouth, and he winced at the panicked look in her eyes.

"Logan, I am so sorry..." Logan took a step towards her in confusion, but she scurried away from him again. He followed anyway.

"Nikkola, I hurt you. I'm the one who's sorry." She shook her head frantically, backing into a wall.

"I kissed you, Logan. I should not have done that." Logan shook his head back at her and stood only inches away, bracing his arms on either side of her to block any escape route.

"I got some memories back. We obviously meant something to each other, Nikka..." Her small hands fisted in the material of his shirt and pulled him in until they were almost nose to nose.

"But you don't remember what! And because you don't remember, I feel like I took advantage of you!" Logan raised his eyebrows in surprise, and smiled at her.

"Well, I certainly don't feel like I was taken advantage of." Nikkola shook her head in despair and ducked under one arm, only looking back at him when she was safely on the other side of the bed.

"Nikkola, don't beat yourself up about it. It's fine!" When she just shook her head Logan sighed in despair and walked towards the door. Turning back before he reached the hallway, he sighed again at the crestfallen look on her face. Nikkola's entire body looked dejected, and her hands twisted timidly in front of her as she watched his face to see what he would do. Finally he took a deep breath and shrugged.

"So, if it's such a big thing, what were we to each other?" Nikkola swallowed nervously, her eyes growing wide. She cleared her throat, her hands working faster than before. When she finally spoke, her voice was low and hesitant.

"I...did not introduce myself properly before. My full name...is Nikkola Anastasia Pietrovich Creed Logan. And I have been widowed these twenty years."


	7. Logan

James Logan had seen some amazing things in his lifetime, but the fact that he couldn't remember all of them wasn't really a concern. Since he had been born in 1903, he had witnessed the birth of almost every modern technological wonder, and his stint in the army had made him privy to the highest technology the world had to offer at the time. He still had an uncanny knowledge of all things technical, but again, the _why_ didn't really matter. He thought it would take a lot to get the better of him, to make him stop in awe and wonder, to shock him. To change his life forever.

Of course, because he couldn't remember most of his life, he thought that regaining his memories would be what floored him. But instead, it was the harbinger of those memories; a tiny, blonde wildcat who knocked his socks off with one kiss, and then haltingly introduced herself as his wife.

After those few simple words that Nikkola whispered, Logan just stared at her, his head spinning. His wife? She was his wife? It had shaken him when he heard that she could tell him his history, but to learn that she was irrevocably part of that life, that she was the biggest part of that life, that was the defining moment that stopped his heart and changed everything.

The two mutants stared at each other from across the room, one reeling from the shock and trying to adjust, the other watching him with big blue eyes, her gaze solemn. It took a minute for Logan to find his voice, but when he did, he didn't know where to start.

"Are...are you serious?" Nikkola blinked once, then crossed the room to where her backpack was. Digging for just a moment, she pulled out an old envelope and then a paper from that envelope. Without a word, she handed it to Logan, who scanned it quickly. It was a marriage license, between one James William Logan and one Nikkola Anastasia Creed, dated nearly seventy years previous. When Logan looked up again, Nikkola had her palm outstretched towards him, with a chain pooled on it. Attached to the chain were a pair of dog tags, and a pair of gold wedding rings.

Logan looked at the rings for a long moment without speaking, without moving. Then finally, he slowly reached out his hand and picked the larger ring up, his fingers brushing Nicole's palm. Without looking, he knew that engraved inside the band were the words 'Love always, Nikka,' just as he knew that inside the smaller band were the words 'Love always, Logan.' With quick, precise movements, he unhooked the ring from the chain and gave the necklace back to Nikkola, who folded her hands in front of her calmly, and watched Logan's eyes.

The man in front of her studied the ring with an intense gaze, although he already knew exactly what it looked like, having examined it every day for nearly fifty years. Finally he looked back at Nikkola and swallowed hard. Before he could speak, she spoke for him.

"You need to think," she said, and then nodded. He nodded in return, and looked back at the ring. After a brief moment, he held it out to her.

"Do you want this back?" Nikkola shook her head slightly.

"It belongs to you, Logan." He nodded absently, and pocketed the band after a moment and turned towards the door. Before walking out into the hall, however, he turned back to Nikkola and started to apologize. She shook her head and held up a hand.

"No, Logan. I understand. I will be here when you are ready to talk." He nodded once and walked into the dark hallway. Before he had gotten very far, he heard Nikkola's voice calling his name. He stopped and turned towards her partially, waiting. Her voice was so quiet even he could barely hear it.

"That day by the lake was the first day of our honeymoon. And...it is still true, James." A heartbeat, then he nodded and continued down the hallway to his room, while Nicole shut her door behind him.

_Love always._


	8. Endings

Nikkola quickly became accustomed to life at the school. The children were fond of her, and she became comfortable with everyone on the teaching staff, as well. Since she was fluent in Russian, French and English, Charles soon asked her if she would teach some classes, which she immediately agreed to. Her days fell into a rewarding routine, and she fell in love with her new surroundings.

The seasons changed twice, and soon the adults were spending their mornings sipping coffee, watching the students playing in the snow. Occasionally they would join them, although the children had a habit of ganging up on their teachers and throwing them in the snow. The only two who were never overpowered were Logan and Nicole, who were too strong to be overcome.

Nicole was noticing more and more that Logan would often stop what he was doing to watch her. She never gave any indication that she was affected by these long gazes, but every time she felt his eyes on her, her pulse would flutter wildly and she had to force herself from blushing. They never spoke, but those glances were as good as words to the telepath. To the rest of the mutants living at Xavier's school, it just seemed that she would fall silent suddenly, and no one except Logan knew what was really going on. And the more she observed Logan interacting with others, the more she was falling back into love with her husband.

The days passed quickly, and one morning Nikkola woke up to see fresh snow covering the school grounds. She always woke up many hours before the students did, and since her room had a small balcony on the ground level, she would sit outside and enjoy the quiet and stillness. This morning, though, was different.

Nicole was up before everyone else, like she usually was, but she sat out on her balcony to think, instead of enjoying the peace and quiet. Bundled in sweatpants and a bulky sweater, she had her bare feet propped up on the railing, even though the temperature was well below freezing. It had been exactly seventy years since she had exchanged vows with Logan and their distance still preyed on her heart, although she saw him everyday.

She drew a shaky breath and let it out slowly, watching it puff on the cold air. _This will not be a good day_, she thought to herself, and took another slow breath. Her sensitive nostrils caught a scent on the air, and she turned her head slightly. It smelled like wind and freshly cut grass and she could feel her heart starting to beat faster. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a figure leaning against the outer wall of the house, and she turned her head fully to see Logan, his arms crossed and his dark eyes watching her.

"Mornin', Nikka." Her heart pounding, Nicole drew her knees up to her chest and tucked her toes under the hem of her sweater.

"Good morning, Logan. Did you sleep well?" He nodded, then asked her the same. When she nodded as well, they fell into a silence that was long, but not uncomfortable. Finally, Logan cleared his throat and looked as if he was trying to decide something. Nicole watched him expectantly, and was not surprised when he vaulted lightly over the railing and stood beside her, arms crossed again. She could feel that he was trying to say something, but didn't quite have the words yet. She smiled encouragingly, and after a moment he crouched beside her.

"I've been wantin' to talk to you for a while, but I don't think I ever got up the courage 'til now." Nikkola's eyes widened in feigned surprise.

"The Wolverine...without courage? That is something I never thought I would hear." Logan rolled his eyes at her. After another moment, he reached hesitantly for her necklace, slipping it over her head. Her wedding ring still was still hooked beside her dogtags, and Logan quickly pulled it off the chain, replacing the necklace around her neck. At that moment, Nicole noticed that he was wearing his wedding band, and her heart started to beat even faster. Logan could see the flush along her cheeks and at her throat, and he could feel her pulse fluttering at the base of her thumb when he took her hand.

"So...happy anniversary, Nikkola." Nicole watched silently as he slid her wedding ring onto her third finger, and then sat gripping her hand in his.

"I've been doin' a lot of thinkin'. And watchin'. And even though I can't remember the years we spent together, I'm rememberin'...what it was like to love you, Nikka. And...I think that love always thing is still true for me too, even though I didn't know about it until we found each other again. There's always been somethin'...I don't know what it was, but I always felt like it was there."

He brushed away a tear that had rolled down her cheek and stood, pulling her with him. His voice dropped slightly, as if he was hesitant to say the next part. But Nikkola wrapped her arms around his slim waist and smiled up at him in encouragement. Logan took a deep breath.

"And I've noticed, that whenever I touch you, I remember. I've been wanting to sit down and talk, and let you tell me everything, and...right now is as good of a time as any, so..." His voice died, and he quirked his eyebrows at her.

"And anyways, you know what I'm going to say, right?" Nicole laughed at his expression, her gaze soft. Standing on her tiptoes, she reached up and pressed her lips to his cheek, then whispered something Russian in his ear. Logan smiled back down at her, then opened the sliding glass door, picked her up in his arms, and carried her into her room, closing the door and the drapes behind them.

Much later, Nikkola brushed Logan's hair out of his eyes, her gaze soft as she remembered.

_The way his eyes glistened in the soft light after they kissed._

_The way both their hearts leapt when he told her he loved her, and when she told him the same in return._

_The way every whisper of skin on skin brought back a memory._

_The first time they made love after twenty years; Nikkola soft and tender, Logan hesitant and gentle. Afterwards, holding him in her arms as he wept for his now regained past._


End file.
